Joe Nosef is resigning after nearly six years as chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party.

"I want to let you know that after nearly six years of serving as chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party I believe it is time for me to move on and to turn the MSGOP over to a new chairman," Nosef wrote in a letter to Gov. Phil Bryant on Wednesday. "... I am very proud of the last six years and the success all of us have worked together to achieve."

Gov. Phil Bryant thanked Nosef for his years of service.

"I am happy he will have the opportunity to spend more time with his family and wish him the best in the future," Bryant said.

Nosef had replaced Arnie Hederman as chairman of the state GOP.

The party has seen gains in state and local offices held by Republicans under Nosef's watch, including the clinching of a supermajority of Republicans in both the House and Senate for the first time since Reconstruction.

Nosef also managed the party through a tumultuous time as more conservative and tea party Republicans battled with the "establishment" GOP in Mississippi and in Washington, D.C. Nosef was often in the hot seat during state Sen. Chris McDaniel's challenge of U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran during the 2014 Republican Primary. McDaniel supporters called for his resignation during and after the race.

Nosef was chief counsel for former Gov. Haley Barbour and served as chief of staff for Bryant when he served as lieutenant governor.

In his resignation letter to Bryant, Nosef said he plans to focus on his family and his law practice and, "obviously, I plan to stay active as far as politics and the Mississippi Republican Party."

No replacement for Nosef has been elected by the MSGOP Executive Committee, a decision in which Gov. Phil Bryant will have a large say. Bryant in an email to committee members has recommended Lucien Smith, his former chief of staff. Smith, a former budget adviser and legal counsel to former Gov. Haley Barbour, ran unsuccessfully for the office of state treasurer in 2011.